Undraland

by Mary E. Twomey

Fourteen.

  Temperamental Tom

  The moment the green vanished beneath us and was replaced by the gray solid rock, Jens slowed. Britta and Tor were a few yards away, catching their breath with wide eyes. Nik and Foss dropped their hands and instantly became visible. Jens and I were still invisible, judging by Britta’s head bobbing around looking for her brother.

  Jens was not ready to be seen. He covered his face with his hands and breathed heavily into his palms. His home with his scant belongings would not be waiting for him when we returned – if we returned. He was now cast out of his society, and the burden weighed heavy on his shoulders. I debated sliding off his back to give him some space, but it felt cruel to abandon him in such a devastating moment. My grip around his shoulders turned into a hug, and I pressed my cheek to his, my fingertips stroking his half a sideburn. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” I whispered, my mouth inches from his.

  His hand moved to my messy hair and gripped the locks in solidarity. He took a few deep, steadying breaths, and then did something I did not expect.

  Jens turned his head and kissed my cheek.

  I like to think of myself as a fairly unshakable person. I mean, my family up and dying shook me pretty hard, but other than that I think I’ve handled new schools, hardly any belongings and very few friends pretty well. Judging by the way my heart fluttered, I could tell that when my first real kiss came along, it would shake me up more than I would be able to suppress with a cool joke and a smile.

  My cheeks heated at the small token of affection from Jens, and I was grateful I was still invisible from the others.

  I pushed down the girlish butterflies and focused on the trouble at hand. All the obligatory things people said to me about my family dying popped into my head, and I despised each one. Instead of reaching for the staple, “It’ll be okay” or “I’m sorry for your loss”, I whispered in his ear as my heart thudded against his, “We’ll get through this together, Jens.”

  I rested my forehead to his temple for as long as it took for his breathing to return to normal. He nodded and relinquished his grip on my hair, and then slid me off his back, switching his pack to his back as we both reappeared to the others. I slid my hand in his and felt his grip hold mine fast.

  He’d had my house burned to the ground, but no one had been there to hold my hand through it. Strangers though we were, I couldn’t do that to him. It wasn’t in my nature to look the other way while someone was suffering.

  The four were entrenched in a discussion of how quickly the Tomten took action, and what this would mean for our plan of getting permission from the peoples to destroy each portal. “We can talk and move,” Jens stated, looking up toward the mountain we were expected to climb. “Tomten won’t scale these mountains because of the rift with Elvage, but I don’t want them to know for sure which way we’re going in case the Mouthpiece is nearby.”

  My lungs felt cold and my mouth went dry. I touched Linus at my collar, hoping for a burst of camaraderie or strength. I’m not a huge fan of heights, especially the harrowing kind that stretch up to the clouds.

  Britta’s eyes fell on our joined hands, causing a barely noticeable intake of breath to pass her excited lips. I dropped Jens’s grip, but instantly felt a traitor.

  When she followed along with the others in the direction of the mountain, Jens stopped. “No, Britt. You can’t come. It’s too dangerous.”

  Britta’s quiet, feminine voice had a note of resolve in it I began to appreciate. “They burned your house, Jens. How long do you think they’ll let me go without questioning? How long do you imagine I’ll hold up without a male in the family to speak for me?”

  Huh?

  I could tell Jens wanted to argue, but the logic could not be bested. He shook his head as he hugged his sister in defeat. “This is not what I want for you. I would never have let you take Tor if I knew this would happen.” He released her. “You don’t even have any provisions on you.”

  “She can share my stuff,” I said, taking in her Amish-style dress and the seven inches she had on me. “I don’t have much, but it’s better than nothing.”

  Britta’s smile showed her gratitude. “It’s settled, then. You all heard Jens. Let’s go.”

  Jens led the way for a few meters until he huffed irritably – the first sign of his personality resurfacing. “Loos, you take the lead. You shouldn’t be behind me. I don’t like not being able to keep an eye on you.”

  Oh, jeez. “I’m not going to disappear if I’m out of your vision for ten seconds. Unclench, Jens.”

  “No. I’m your Tom, so do as I say.”

  There went the glow of our truce. Even my dad knew better than to boss me around like that. I couldn’t remember what possessed me to let him kiss my cheek or why I held his hand, the jerk. I blame it on temporary insanity.

  My hands found their way to my hips. “I think your mission of keeping me alive doesn’t matter when you’re trying to keep yourself alive, as well.”

  “I’ll decide what matters.” The others passed by, leaving us to our argument. “If I say you walk ahead of me, that’s what you do, with a happy little smile on your face.”

  “Fine!” I tromped on ahead to catch up to Britta, tossing over my shoulder, “Permission to breathe, captain?”

  “Only if it pleases me!” he fired back.

  Foss growled. “This is why I didn’t want any females along on the journey. And now we’re saddled with two? We’re all going to die.”

  Oh, I wanted to strangle both Jens and Foss. Martin Luther King, Jr. would not approve of the number of murderous thoughts I had in the arrogant Tomten’s presence.

  Tor turned around to give us a well-deserved talking to. “Look, ya two. It’s goin’ ta be a long hike, so make up and shape up. Yer worse than Nik and Foss!”

  “Sorry, Tor,” I said, reining in my anger.

  “Sorry, Tor,” Jens mimicked in a higher-pitched imitation of my voice. “Suck up.”

  The urge to retaliate was strong, but I resisted, hiking with Britta ahead of Jens, who took up the rear. “Is he always so charming?” I asked his sister bitterly.

  Britta smiled and let a small giggle surface. “I’ve never seen him work his charm so hard before. You know, I always wondered about you and your family. He spent so much time away. Now I understand.” She gave me a knowing look I tried to ignore.

  “What’ll happen to Jamie and Uncle Rick?” I asked the group to change the subject.

  Nik answered, turning his head to look at me. “Alrik most likely disappeared as soon as things went south with King Johannes. Toms can go invisible, but Alrik’s an elf. He can transport himself from one location to another without detection.”

  Foss had something to say to this. “Other Elves can sense if someone transports themselves. Magic like that leaves an imprint even we can see.”

  Nik rolled his eyes, as if I should know Foss was being impetuous. “Sure. Everyone knows that. Alrik will find us soon enough, little human. No need to worry about him.”

  Britta stepped over a large rock as we began our hike around and up the unsteady mountain path. “Jamie will have stayed in the palace. He’ll be safe there. The King would never hurt his son. Jamie’s beloved by the people. But Johannes’ll keep him there to stop him from running away from the kingdom or going off to destroy the portal. Unless Alrik ported him to Elvage with him.”

  The way Britta spoke about him took away any question I still had as to their connection. They were involved in some serious moonbeams, rainbows and heartstrings love. It was the stuff I’d read about, but never experienced.

  I stepped over a jagged rock, adjusting to the steep incline. I wasn’t exactly athletic, but I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of the seasoned climbers. Even Britta in her long dress was faring better than I was. This was their first experience with a human, and I was determined not to make a fool of my kind by breaking a bone on the first leg of the adventure.